The Other McCain

"One should either write ruthlessly what one believes to be the truth, or else shut up." — Arthur Koestler

Rich Lowry’s Editorial Impotence?

Posted on | April 7, 2012 | 107 Comments

A communiqué from the regime:

“Needless to say, no one at National Review shares Derb’s appalling view of what parents supposedly should tell their kids about blacks in this instantly notorious piece here.”

Yes, but have you fired him for it, Rich? What the hell kind of “needless to say” bulls–t are you trying to play on us here?

Mind you, I’m not saying you should fire Derbyshire: A commenter on a previous post raised the possibility that Derb was cleverly parodying a black racialist writer’s version of “The Talk.” So I suppose that some plausible explanation or defense can’t be ruled out.

“Needless to say,” however, they don’t pay you the big bucks to waffle in times of crisis, Rich. Your executive authority must be exercised and, with this howling Internet lynch mob demanding Derbyshire’s scalp, you must either satisfy the mob or deal with the consequences.

Obviously, Rich, it would do neither of us — nor Derbyshire, for that matter — any good for me to offer you unsolicited advice. You’ve never taken my advice before, and I don’t expect you to start now.

UPDATE: Vox Day calls Derb’s piece “a calm and perfectly reasonable collection of observable realities of race in America.” Lisa Graas offers, “Things I Don’t Say to My Kids About Black People.”

BTW, have you hit Lisa’s tip jar yet? I did.

UPDATE II: In case you haven’t been reading this blog regularly for three years, I’ve been arguing Lowry should be fired since 2009: “a lot of snotty nancy-boy whining about the uncouth Republican rabble.”

UPDATE III: Dan Collins thought this might be relevant:

Caught on camera — a tourist being beaten in downtown Baltimore and instead of helping him, a crowd laughs and steals his belongings.

Watch the video of the Bad Samaritans:

Has Rich Lowry been to downtown Baltimore lately? Not saying he should get punched in the face, although it might do him a world of good.

UPDATE IV: Leon Wolf accuses Lowry of displaying “an absolute lack of leadership and conviction.” But what else can we expect from “conservatives” who are in the tank for Romney?

BTW, has Mitt denounced Derbyshire yet?

UPDATE V: One of the things that has bothered me for years is the way some people want to treat political journalists as if they were actually politicians, so that anyone who writes about politics must be “vetted,” as if they were themselves candidates for elected office.

My own understanding of my job is write something people want to read, and get paid for it.

Having the “correct” opinion on controversial issues? Nobody’s ever offered to pay me for that, and I don’t expect any such offers soon. My writing therefore must stand or fall on its own merits, without regard for my ability to win any kind of popularity contest or plebescite.

Meanwhile, Michelle Malkin writes about an actual politician:

[Marion] Barry told supporters in D.C.’s Ward 8: “We got to do something about these Asians coming in and opening up businesses and dirty shops. They ought to go.” Once pushed out, Barry, promised, he would replace the foreign invaders with “African-American business people.” Barry then took to social networking platform Twitter to expound on the perils of “dirty” Asian shops in his neighborhood.

The same people who support Marion Barry nevertheless want us to think the real problem in American race relations is John Derbyshire.

UPDATE VI (Smitty): via The Political Hat, it looks like NRO has parted ways with Derbyshire:

His latest provocation, in a webzine, lurches from the politically incorrect to the nasty and indefensible. We never would have published it, but the main reason that people noticed it is that it is by a National Review writer. Derb is effectively using our name to get more oxygen for views with which we’d never associate ourselves otherwise. So there has to be a parting of the ways. Derb has long danced around the line on these issues, but this column is so outlandish it constitutes a kind of letter of resignation.

Category: Journalism, Racism

Comments

107 Responses to “Rich Lowry’s Editorial Impotence?”

  1. Teresamerica
    April 7th, 2012 @ 6:00 pm

    What a pansy.  The feminization and pussification of America’s men continues. 

  2. The Derbyshire Race Talk Issue: A Fine Line Between Racism And Good Advice - The POH Diaries
    April 7th, 2012 @ 6:17 pm

    […] that end, Bob Belvedere doesn’t believe that Derbyshire is a racist and neither does Stacy McCain; and that, quite frankly, is good enough for […]

  3. ThomasD
    April 7th, 2012 @ 6:26 pm

    I’ve found some of  Derb’s ideas  offensive for years, but not nearly so offensive at many other opinions or ideas.  Opinions or ideas that often pass for acceptable among the left and the MSM. e.g. just about anything out of Bill Ayers’ or Louis Farrakhan’s mouth…

    If they get to shoot their mouths off, and talk about things like denying me my essential liberties with no apparent consequences, then Derb can babble on about whatever he wants.  Those that get their panties in a wad – on the right or the left – can go fuck themselves. 

    And those who might feel likewise but are unwilling to push back can also do likewise.

  4. ThomasD
    April 7th, 2012 @ 6:28 pm

    Shocking for Baltimore? 

    Not even surprising.

  5. ThomasD
    April 7th, 2012 @ 6:50 pm

     Well, he’s talking about treating collections of individuals as groups – observing behaviors common to social animals when present in numbers.  A behavior guaranteed to offend someone. 

    It is the left who has turned this reality into a cottage industry – the destruction of anyone to their right on the socio-political spectrum.

    Lowry may be spineless and far too squishy to suit his position, but in this case I do not see where he serves the cause of conservatism by punishing someone for the crime of being offensive to the perpetually, and purposefully,  offended.

  6. JeffWeimer
    April 7th, 2012 @ 7:31 pm

    And here it is:

    http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/295514/parting-ways-rich-lowry

    I wonder what took so long.

  7. K-Bob
    April 7th, 2012 @ 7:40 pm

     Andy’s far too rational for NRO.

  8. Adjoran
    April 7th, 2012 @ 7:48 pm

     Lowry probably only had one change of underwear with him.

    Fortunately for him, in NYC, you can get almost anything delivered.

    Unfortunately for him, that doesn’t include testicles.

  9. K-Bob
    April 7th, 2012 @ 7:59 pm

    Over the last several years I’ve found myself in total disagreement with Derbyshire several times.  Disagreement often, wondering if he was actually serious in the article of contention.

    Nevertheless, “the talk” does happen, in some form or other.  Usually with far less degree of reliance on demographic stats and/or visual aids.  People may not like it, but it’s a fact, and all because of some small percentage of hate-bearing, hate-acting, racist elements.

    But NRO has been branded by Lowry with waffling, principles-be-damned writing for so long now that I’ve almost forgotten they exist.  Certain writers there I still read, but not many.

  10. Dianna Deeley
    April 7th, 2012 @ 8:02 pm

     I came to see if the news had been picked up. I think Lowry got the worst of all worlds with this one; if he was going to fire John Derbyshire, he ought to have done it when he first saw the article as published. If he wasn’t going to, he should have said so.

  11. Dianna Deeley
    April 7th, 2012 @ 8:03 pm

     And you know this…how?

    *This is a joke. It is only a joke. It is not meant to be mean, insulting or rude. It is intended to make you chuckle, briefly. Not eat my head.

  12. OldNuc
    April 7th, 2012 @ 8:23 pm

    food for thought, if you can handle it.  http://proteinwisdom.com/?p=39245

  13. K-Bob
    April 7th, 2012 @ 9:01 pm

    I should also point out that, like Dan Riehl, I disagree strongly with a few points Derb made. Some of them seem more like the product of xenophobia, rather than the often cynical observations of experience.

  14. Adobe_Walls
    April 7th, 2012 @ 9:14 pm

    I was being facetious, Baltimore is still called the city of brotherly hate isn’t it?

  15. A Guy From Lithia Springs
    April 7th, 2012 @ 9:18 pm

    I thought the right were supposed to be the ones about responsibility and accountability.    Guess ya’ll didn’t get that memo from on high.  Oh well.    

  16. ThePaganTemple
    April 7th, 2012 @ 9:19 pm

    I was about to disagree with that, but then I realized you’re one hundred percent right. Your finer, more exotic international cuisine establishments don’t do takeout.

  17. Adobe_Walls
    April 7th, 2012 @ 9:20 pm

    What he wrote should be taught in schools.

  18. Adobe_Walls
    April 7th, 2012 @ 9:22 pm

    That was a lot funnier without the disclaimer.

  19. Adobe_Walls
    April 7th, 2012 @ 9:24 pm

    What’s wrong with xenophobia?

  20. Dianna Deeley
    April 7th, 2012 @ 9:35 pm

     Yeah, but I like my head where it is.

  21. Dianna Deeley
    April 7th, 2012 @ 9:35 pm

     Yeah, but I like my head where it is.

  22. Dianna Deeley
    April 7th, 2012 @ 9:44 pm

     What did that have to do with anything?

  23. Adjoran
    April 7th, 2012 @ 10:14 pm

     You have to forgive him – they dropped him on his head as a baby.  From an upper floor.  Several times.

  24. A Guy From Lithia Springs
    April 7th, 2012 @ 10:27 pm

    Anybody who chooses to ply their trade for an employer is responsible for their actions and accountable to higher authority.    Conservatives allegedly feel the same way.   Except when they don’t.  Or its convenient not to………

  25. Tennwriter
    April 7th, 2012 @ 10:42 pm

    Since I’m not a fan of Lowry or Derbyshire.

    Popcorn.

  26. ThePaganTemple
    April 7th, 2012 @ 10:44 pm

     How can you have a multicultural politically correct society with xenophobia? The two just don’t mix well.

  27. CPAguy
    April 7th, 2012 @ 10:45 pm

    Actually, this is nothing like the Juan Williams incident.  Juan Williams spoke about the issue at hand, on air, and immediately framed it.

    Derby spent hour(s) on what in a lot ways looks like some sort of passive aggressive racist creed (the first part was OK, but that second page…wow!).

    Obviously, he has no black friends or acquaintances, because only somebody living in a homogeneous silo would write something like that.

    Derby did not frame the article in any way.  He put out a reactionary article in which he used easily pierced demographic data to shakily support and rationalize his prejudice.

    Garbage In (the article) = Garbage Out (fired)

    He could have put more thought into a more in depth article, but instead, he opted for lazy reactionary piece.  If he had been serious about his craft, there would have been no uproar.

  28. Adobe_Walls
    April 7th, 2012 @ 10:50 pm

    Adjoran can get a bit testy when folks talk about not voting for whoever goes up against Obamsky but he does have a sense of humor.

  29. Adobe_Walls
    April 7th, 2012 @ 10:51 pm

    You are correct sir.

  30. ThePaganTemple
    April 7th, 2012 @ 11:12 pm

     Oh, I don’t know about that. I just wish the same rules applied to everybody. For example, when a bunch of racist assholes announce a reward for the capture dead or alive of a private citizen, I’d like to see them treated with the same degree of deference and respect one might treat a Mafia capo caught putting out a contract hit on somebody. But that’s just me. I have these weird ideas like that. For another example, if a cop killer is tried and convicted, I’d like to see his ass fry. Well, so long as he is white, that is. Now if he’s black-well, dang it, I still want to see his sorry fucking ass fry. I guess there’s just no hope for me.

  31. Adobe_Walls
    April 7th, 2012 @ 11:29 pm

    Of course he’s responsible for his actions/writing but what in that article merits negative consequences aside from the fact that pinheads don’t like it. Further the article wasn’t in NRO so Lowry has no dog in this fight in the first place. There is nothing inherently wrong with offending people, trolls do it here all the time. For instance if I point out that leftists are utterly without redeeming value of any kind, some of the Bolshevik persuasion might be offended by that but that’s OK they’ll get over it I know I have.

  32. Profiles in Narcissism: Charles Johnson Blinded by His Own Self-Righteousness : The Other McCain
    April 7th, 2012 @ 11:38 pm

    […] Lowry tried to distance himself from Derbyshire — “needless to say”! – and I reacted to that this afternoon:“Needless to say,” however, they don’t pay you the big bucks to waffle in times of crisis, […]

  33. Evi L. Bloggerlady
    April 7th, 2012 @ 11:43 pm

    So why does Marion Barry still have a job?  Check out the comment I copied from The Atlantic.  Amazing.  

  34. K-Bob
    April 7th, 2012 @ 11:51 pm

    People should all love Xeno.

    He’s like, a warrior princess or something.

  35. Mark Goluskin
    April 8th, 2012 @ 1:05 am

    I could not cut and paste it. I just typed the “highlights” after printing it.

  36. Matthew Vadum
    April 8th, 2012 @ 1:05 am

    This is one of those rare occasions when Stacy and I disagree.

    There’s a lot of really objectionable stuff in Derbyshire’s piece and it sure doesn’t read like a parody.

    A small sample:

    “(10f) Do not settle in a district or municipality run by black politicians.

    (10g) Before voting for a black politician, scrutinize his/her character much more carefully than you would a white.

    (10h) Do not act the Good Samaritan to blacks in apparent distress, e.g., on the highway.

    (10i) If accosted by a strange black in the street, smile and say something polite but keep moving.”

    I mean, jeez, these are pretty horrific sweeping generalizations.  I don’t think it’s unfair to characterize them as racist.

    Should National Review have fired Derb?  I don’t know.  Not everything in the piece is offensive or wrong but some of it seems pseudo-scientific to me.  I wouldn’t want to be associated with this article.

  37. Mark Goluskin
    April 8th, 2012 @ 1:13 am

    Like a broken clock is right twice a day, some points were correct. But the whole of point 10a-h was wrong. And he does not highlight the fact it is CONSERVATIVES that give a damn about how “education” in the Black and low-income communites suck. WE are the ones that want to break the Axis of Evil. Big government, big labor and yeah, big business. WE want them to have the oppertunites to get private education through vouchers. WE want them to have solid charter schools. I can go on. But Derb offered nothing but, well hate I am afraid.

  38. Mark Goluskin
    April 8th, 2012 @ 1:18 am

    Yes, I am glad they fired him. For instance, should we discount two of the great members of this congress, Allan West and Tim Scott? There Black you know! Of course not. We had some pretty lousy White politicians. Oh, I don’t know. Try Bill Clinton for one. And even some on our side. But he could not articulate why we conservatives must work harder in appealing to Blacks that on a whole host of issues are indeed conservative.

  39. Mark Goluskin
    April 8th, 2012 @ 1:22 am

    I pointed out in my post on this that there are a lot of lousy neighborhoods in America. Not all are Black. But that aside, the tone and vitriol was unacceptable. Even if valid points were made. They are all forgotten by the points 10a-h. As I replied to Matthew Vadum above, we have not vetted some White politicians all that well either. And some were conservatives. I just think that as hard as it is to get the conservtive message to people that need to hear it the most, this piece did not help. And, FTR, I would vote for Allen West or Tim Scott for president or anything any time, any day. They are two great stalwarts and Black.

  40. edge of the sandbox
    April 8th, 2012 @ 1:47 am

    While some thought he expressed in that piece are just street smarts, not all of them are.  Scrutinize black politicians more?  Avoid gatherings of blacks you don’t know?  No.  Scrutinize all politicians and avoid criminality.

  41. daialanye
    April 8th, 2012 @ 8:41 am

    Derbyshire can be a bit bizarre — you have only to look at his background or correspond with him to realize this. But National Review’s record is one of having weak knees when it comes to political correctness. Think of their ultra-sensitivity regarding the misdemeanors of Joe Sobran, Pat Buchanan, the Birchers and Randians, among others. Nor is it new, either, but a heritage from Bill Buckley, who cherished his relationship with the liberal intellectual crowd to the extent of sacrificing conservatives who “went too far.”

    As far as Derbyshire’s Taki piece, it certainly lacks subtlety,  but no honest person can deny the fact of black racism, nor that it is presently a great deal more blatant than white racism, and far more violent besides. As a society we need to face up to this, and the sooner the better.

  42. ThePaganTemple
    April 8th, 2012 @ 8:48 am

    Derbyshire left out the most important piece of advice. Don’t marry a black woman unless she’s a solid conservative and you know beyond any doubt that she comes from a solidly conservative family or background. Otherwise, hoo boy are you asking for loads of shit.

  43. edge of the sandbox
    April 8th, 2012 @ 12:23 pm

    They absolutely had to fire him after he advised scrutinizing black politicians more.  Otherwise all they had to say about Barack Obama will be filed under “racism”.

  44. Bob Belvedere
    April 8th, 2012 @ 8:34 pm

    Lowry is a panty-waisted wimp and I’d say that to him directly, but both his posts at The Corner [the one Stacy quotes and the announcement of his firing] are closed to comments.  What a Goddamn pussy.

  45. Bob Belvedere
    April 8th, 2012 @ 8:34 pm

    We’ll expect to hear back from you in a few years then?

  46. The Daley Gator Comments and Includes Commentary from Other Conservative Blogs On The Derbyshire Article | ZION'S TRUMPET
    April 8th, 2012 @ 9:04 pm

    […] Stacy also has a nice round up as well […]

  47. CPAguy
    April 8th, 2012 @ 11:43 pm

    LOL…you will say anything to get a response, won’t you?

  48. Evi L. Bloggerlady
    April 9th, 2012 @ 1:30 am

    I might never come back! 

  49. Bob Belvedere
    April 9th, 2012 @ 9:04 am

    You’d better come back, Evi!

  50. Bob Belvedere
    April 9th, 2012 @ 9:05 am

    WOLVERINES!